Oh, just kill the d@mn thing and pretend he lives in your heart.

It seems humanity hasn't changed... whatever. I'll just ask my friends about it, how the dragons look and stuff.
If i don't like it, i won't buy it. Its just that i have a different point of view to most people, studying environmental science.
But seriously, does anyone actually like dragons?

If you have an unquenchable love for dragons to the point of not being able to stomach them as an antagonist then vanilla Skyrim is definitely not for you.

These are not wonderful, natural animals of Tamriel. They are the servants of a god who is going to eat the world. Are we not supposed to defend ourselves against them?

Just run from the dragons! haha. then you don't gotta worry... well, at least not about killing them, but then you got them killing you on your mind..

From what I have read and seen in videos it seems that there will be some dragons that are not evil and seeking to destroy the world.
The dragons that are attacking to world will most likely be hostile to you, while the others may have other roles to play. I do not know
anything for a fact, but I think that there will be a mixture.

these arnt the dragons you know and love they are pawns of the world eater alduin and they wish for nothing more than the destruction of nirn. better said theyr alduins soldiers and seeing as you have a dragons soul they wont hesitate to kill you to release that soul so killing them or eluding them is the only way to ensure your survival once they have spotted you.

Try Divinity II: Ego Draconis. It lets you turn into a dragon.

I DO NOT like Divinity II as true dragons are all dead. And the dragons i know and love are dragons, nothing else. What bothers me is that the dragon god seems to have no reason to consume the world, and those dragons have no reason for doing what they do... i just wish a good RPG would have a balanced view of dragons, not pure good or evil. I guess if they are some dragons that aren't maniacal thats good enough. But doesn't anyone find it weird that they were so revered in Oblivion but now are just monsters of destruction?

Todd said you will talk to some dragons.

Pretty sure it has been said that Alduin does have a reason. It just so happens however, that his reason is one that we as mere mortals cannot, or will not accept. I imagine it would be like trying to convince a sentient chess set that destroying and recycling the material of every piece including the board to make a newer, better chess set is okay because the new set will be better.

Besides, he is a god and we are but mere mortals. In his mind, any action he takes is likely justified by default. Trying to convince the dragons that Alduin is wrong would be the equivalent of trying to tell an angel that god is wrong.

Akatosh, the Dragon God of Time is revered in Cyrodiil. Alduin the World Eater is the Nordic aspect of Akatosh, but he is seen as an enemy god who destroys the world.

They are not just monsters of destruction. Alduin ends the kalpa, which allows the next to start.

Why would the Nords worship a world eater? I hope Akatosh is involved too... he was my favourite Divine.

They don't. They view Alduin as an enemy god, as they hope for Shor (their version of Lorkhan) to defeat him and end the cycle.

Akatosh isn't the only god with draconic elements. Ysmir, the Nordic version of Talos, is also a dragon.

Dont start the main quest. I doubt Dragons will show up if you just dont start it.

Do not forget that Dragons are sentient beings. It has been hinted that not all Dragons will attempt to devour you and may even engage you in conversation. I agree with the original posters sentiments against another Dragon genocide and the Rachni anology. In the past, The Elder Scrolls main quest have been mainly linear but perhaps this time we will be able to dictate alternative paths. I hope at least we will be able to spare some Dragons or our efforts to avoid slaughtering them are recognized.

They should allow us the option of sparing them, just for all those folks out there who really want to.

Only for them to lick their wounds and come back for us later in greater force...laughing derisively at our misguided sense of mercy.

I imagine it would sound something like this:

"You are a nice mortal...and I appreciate the fact that you let me live when you could have killed me, but the will of Alduin is absolute. Nothing personal."

Ha.... sparing an agent of the destruction of the world?

If there is a choice, sparing will have a consequence: of having earned the ire of a freaking dragon who will certainly not show you mercy in return once it gets its strength back.

Kill it, absorb its power, wipe hands on pants.

I can sort of understand where the OP is coming from. But the thing is as cool as they are the dragons aren't interested in making friends, or hanging out. They just want to make you, your friends, and everything else burst into flames.

Sometimes its just silly to be a pacifist.

That being said. If a Dragon tries to make friends or isnt trying to... Ya know.. Burn my face off. Then exceptions can be made.

Well I'm pretty certain that you HAVE to slay some amount of dragons in the game, but I also hope they won't just make it an 'all dragons evil!... EXTERMINATE!' thing. Firstly, that be a bland story, 2ndly it would be a wasted potential because dragons could and should be build out more. In games were you have evil humans, you HAVE to kill some off them.. but you don't go exterminating everyone, it would be really boring, same thing here..(You don't even kill all demons in Oblivion, you just lock them away, and I doubt there is much a of a demon fan-base.. might be wrong though)
Lastly, if you were to kill all dragons, I don't see how they could ever turn that into a 'good ending'.. I mean, yes you saved the world, and committed genocide at the same time, what a hero.
(And yes, you are not the only dragon fan, I have long been interested in dragons and other mystical beings alike, and never liked the whole 'all off them are non sentential stuff to kill and mess up' view.)

Then go play world of warcraft, there are plenty of friendly dragons in it

I predict that the black dragons will be enemies, and you'll have an opportunity to ally with a red, or more than one red. I believe those are the only types in tamriel, and it'd make sense, based on lore and todd's quote.

Depends on the Dragons.

If they're not affiliated with Akatosh, I would imagine them to be reasonable. They are intelligent beings, afterall.

If they are affiliated with Akatosh, they're probably here to end the world. I say they want to eat us.


... Probably the latter.

I think Skyrim has captured the "not good or evil" aspect of dragons really well. What they're doing seems like a bad thing to the close-minded mortals -- in their selfishness, they cannot accept that it is their time to die. They're like a man who falls off a cliff and flaps his arms like wings to save himself. Alduin has decided they cannot be saved, and they are questioning him to such a degree that they're fighting and slaying his servants, who are only doing what they're commanded.
I mean, come on, this is how Nirn works and has always worked. The old world must fall to make way for a new one. It sounds to me rather like the Dovahkiin and the people he is protecting are the real villains in this game.

On a side note, unless they really twist it up and ruin everything I just said, it looks like we'll be getting a Morrowind-quality main plot again!

EDIT: Akatosh =/= Alduin (necessarily)

My first character will max out the skill of Running Away Really, Really Fast, so I'm pretty sure I won't get to kill any dragons. Or much of anything else, really.